In Korea’s traditional top-down structure, those of a junior rank are expected to take instructions from their seniors without question and find it hard to propose ideas upwards.

Following SK, some other big companies followed suit by ditching the five ranks that are still prevalent in many Korean companies, including KT in 2009.

Now KT is turning back the clock.

“An internal survey found an overwhelming majority of employees favored a return to the five-rank system, which is better suited for a big company like us and helps boost workers’ morale and pride at work,” said a KT spokesman.

Some senior KT officials with more than 10 years of experience at the company complained that the flattened hierarchy made them feel inferior when they met counterparts at other companies and deprived them of chances to get pay increases that usually accompanied promotions under the old system.

KT’s culture shift comes with the installment early this year of Hwang Chang-gyu, a former Samsung Electronics executive, as the telecom company’s new chief executive.

Big companies like Samsung and Hyundai Motor have often cited strict employee hierarchies as the basis for success, saying their leaders can create change quickly without debate and workers follow.

SK, the pioneer in a flatten hierarchy, says its own experience has shown the benefits of dropping the five-tiered system.

“Under the one-rank system, our decision-making process has been faster because the reporting line has become shorter. Also, young employees feel more comfortable in proposing their own views and ideas, which are often pretty good,” said an SK Telecom spokesman.